The backyard creature more dangerous than snakes, spiders and jellyfish

Stephen Smith needed emergency care to save him from four bee stings.Source:Supplied

THERE’S a deadly creature hiding in your backyard.

It’s more dangerous than snakes, spiders and jellyfish but we are far less scared of it.

The University of Melbourne has conducted an Australian-first study on bites and stings from venomous creatures in Australia's towns and cities and discovered bees are the biggest threat to us, causing the most deaths and hospitalisations.

In the past 13 years, 42,000 people have been hospitalised due to venomous bites and stings. A third of those were a result of bee stings.

Hornets, wasps and bees have caused 27 deaths over the past 13 years and while that is the same number of deaths caused by snakes, the number of hospitalisations due to bee stings is double that of snake bites.

Victorian man Stephen Smith developed an allergy to bee stings by time he was 48 but didn’t know it.

He told the Herald Sun his wife was a bee keeper and there were 40,000 of the buzzing insects next to his house.

When walking past he was stung on the leg four times and after 15 minutes, he felt faint and his heart was beating.

His son rang Mr Smith’s wife while he continued to lose consciousness.

The Herald Sun reported an ambulance arrived 10 minutes later and Mr Smith had basically no blood pressure and needed the equivalent of five EpiPens.

He was rushed in for emergency surgery.

“I’d been stung as a kid and never had any problems,” he said.

Bees are the more dangerous than snakes and spiders.Source:ThinkStock

Ants are also dangerous little insects and have actually caused more deaths than spiders and jellyfish.

In the past 13 years, five people have died and 4533 people have been hospitalised from ant and tick bites.

Nobody has died from a spider bite and only three people have died as a result of box jellyfish.

University of Melbourne public health expert at the Australian venom unit, Ronelle Welton, said most of the deaths and hospitalisations caused by venomous creatures happened in populated areas.

“More than half of deaths happened at home, and almost two-thirds (64 per cent) occurred, not in the isolated areas we might expect, but rather, in major cities and inner-regional areas where healthcare is readily accessible,” Dr Welton said.

Double the number of people have been hospitalised due to bee stings compared to snake bites. Picture: Darren PattersonSource:Supplied

More than half of the people who died from snake bites made it to hospital, but only 44 per cent of people who died from an allergic reaction to an insect sting got to hospital.

“Perhaps it’s because bees are so innocuous that most people don’t really fear them in the same way they fear snakes,” Dr Welton said.

“Without having a previous history of allergy, you might get bitten and although nothing happens the first time, you’ve still developed an allergic sensitivity.”

People in WA and South Australia are most at risk to stings and bites.

Research found Tasmania had the lowest risk, with no deaths recorded in the past 13 years.

Most bites and stings from venomous creatures occur between April and October.

People can develop late allergies to bee strings.Source:istock

Dr Welton believed Australia did not know much about the health burdens of venomous creatures.

She said the national guidelines for the prevention and treatment of venomous bites and stings was inadequate.

“From a public health perspective, we can’t make informed decisions until we have a much clearer picture about what’s going on,” she said.

“For example, in South Australia, there are a lot more stings and anaphylaxis from bees. In Queensland there are more snake bites. In Tasmania, their biggest issue is jumper ant anaphylaxis. So the clinical management needs to vary for each state and territory.”